Instructional Variables and Students’ Acquisition of Employable Skills in Vocational Education in Nigerian Technical Colleges

Abstract

This paper focuses on teacher quality, teaching methods, and access to training materials on students’
acquisition of employable skills in vocational technical subjects, for self employment in Akwa Ibom State.
Three questions and three hypotheses were formulated and tested in the study. The population of the study
comprised senior technical II students in the six technical colleges in the state. The population size was 240.
A random sampling technique was used to obtain a sample size of 120 students for the study. A 28 - item
structured questionnaire titled, Students’ Acquisition of Employable Skills Questionnaire (SAESQ) with a
four-point rating response options were used for data collection. Mean, Pearson Product Moment
Correlation (PPMC) and Regressional analysis were used for data analysis. The results indicated that there
was significant relationship between teacher quality and students’ acquisition of employable skills. The
findings also revealed that there was significant relationship between teaching methods and students’ skill
acquisition. This paper therefore calls for the provision of modern workshop equipment and employment of
qualified and experienced teachers for effective teaching/training of students in order to achieve the
objectives of vocational and technical education in Akwa Ibom State.